I have been watching for this every day and it is finally here. Tons of information and if you plan on doing anything with real estate this year, you will probably want to read it all. Excellent job done by Tom For Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.

This report is based on facts, the stuff that really happened reported by the people working the market. The numbers are actual.

***Our annual spoiler alert*** This report is lengthy by normal STAT standards, and as the name STAT infers, there are a lot of numbers. For those of you not into that sort of thing, here’s our annual tweet: “2017 was a very good year for housing and 2018 is projected to be even better.”

It’s that time of year again. The 2017 numbers are in the books and it’s time for our annual year in review. We’re going to start by taking a quick look back at our quarterly reports and then follow up the three quarterly excerpts with a look at six key metrics in 2017 To read the whole report and view the graphs click on the link below.

Net Worth of Homeowners 44X Greater than Renters

Every three years, the Federal Reserve conducts their Survey of Consumer Financesin which they collect data across all economic and social groups. The latest survey data, covering 2013-2016 was released two weeks ago.

The study revealed that the 2016 median net worth of homeowners was $231,400 – a 15% increase since 2013. At the same time, the median net worth of renters decreased by 5% ($5,200 today compared to $5,500 in 2013).

These numbers reveal that the net worth of a homeowner is over 44 times greater than that of a renter.

Owning a home is a great way to build family wealth

As we’ve said before, simply put, homeownership is a form of ‘forced savings.’ Every time you pay your mortgage, you are contributing to your net worth by increasing the equity in your home.

That is why, for the fourth year in a row, Gallupreported that Americans picked real estate as the best long-term investment. This year’s results showed that 34% of Americans chose real estate, followed by stocks at 26% and then gold, savings accounts/CDs, or bonds.

Greater equity in your home gives you options

If you want to find out how you can use the increased equity in your home to move to a home that better fits your current lifestyle, let’s get together to discuss the process.

How to Get the Most Money from the Sale of Your Home

Every homeowner wants to make sure they maximize their financial reward when selling their home. But how do you guarantee that you receive maximum value for your house? Here are two keys to ensure that you get the highest price possible.

1. Price it a LITTLE LOW

This may seem counterintuitive. However, let’s look at this concept for a moment. Many homeowners think that pricing their home a little OVER market value will leave them room for negotiation. In actuality, this just dramatically lessens the demand for your house (see chart below).

Instead of the seller trying to ‘win’ the negotiation with one buyer, they should price it so that demand for the home is maximized. By doing this, the seller will not be fighting with a buyer over the price, but will instead have multiple buyers fighting with each other over the house.

Realtor.com gives this advice:

“Aim to price your property at or just slightly below the going rate. Today’s buyers are highly informed, so if they sense they’re getting a deal, they’re likely to bid up a property that’s slightly underpriced, especially in areas with low inventory.”

2. Use a Real Estate Professional

This, too, may seem counterintuitive. The seller may think they would make more money if they didn’t have to pay a real estate commission. With this being said, studies have shown that homes typically sell for more money when handled by a real estate professional.

A new study by Collateral Analytics, reveals that FSBOs don’t actually save any money, and in some cases may be costing themselves more, by not listing with an agent.

In the study, they analyzed home sales in a variety of markets in 2016 and the first half of 2017. The data showed that:

“FSBOs tend to sell for lower prices than comparable home sales, and in many cases below the average differential represented by the prevailing commission rate.”

The results of the study showed that the differential in selling prices for FSBOs when compared to MLS sales of similar properties is about 5.5%. Sales in 2017 suggest the average price was near 6% lower for FSBO sales of similar properties.

Bottom Line

Price your house at or slightly below the current market value and hire a professional. This will guarantee that you maximize the price you get for your house.

Homeownership Is a Good Financial Investment!

According to a recent report by Trulia, “buying is cheaper than renting in 100 of the largest metro areas by an average of 33.1%.” The report may have some people thinking about buying a home instead of signing another lease extension, but does that make sense from a financial perspective?

Homeownership Is a Good Financial Investment!

“Owning a home is one of the most common ways households build long-term wealth, as it acts like a forced savings account. Instead of paying your landlord, you can pay yourself in the long run through paying down a mortgage on a house.”

The article listed five reasons why owning a home makes financial sense:

Mortgage payments can be fixed while rents go up.

Equity in your home can be a financial resource later.

You can build wealth without paying capital gains.

A mortgage can act as a forced savings account.

Overall, homeowners can enjoy greater wealth growth than renters.

Bottom Line

Before you sign another lease, let’s get together and discuss all your options

We met Maureen July 2010, we found her website via Internet when we were searching to purchase our first property in Phoenix, Arizona. She was the only Realtor that answered all our questions immediately, and we then made arrangements to meet with Maureen in Phoenix, so that she could show us some properties.S he met us at our hotel, which was quite a distance away from her offices, picked us up, as we didn't have our own vehicle and drove us to these properties.

Both myself and my husband took too her immediately! She is very professional, very down too earth, and most importantly - extremely honest! She went beyond the call of duty to assist us. She helped us through the entire process, which at the time was very stressful, as purchasing a property outside Canada is a different process. Even though I am sure we tried her patience, she remained patient with us and forever helpful! We have purchased two properties from Maureen, and will remain in contact with her, as we consider her to be a friend.